ABOUT US

Steve Friess is a 2011-12 recipient of the prestigious Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan, where he will be studying the impact of the rapid expansion of Vegas-style gaming on Asia. He's a podcaster, author and Vegas-based freelance journalist who writes regularly for USA Today, The New York Times, Newsweek and many others. His column, "The Strip Sense" appears every Thursday in the Las Vegas Weekly. His books include "Gay Vegas" from Huntington Press and Knopf Mapguides' "Las Vegas."Friess co-hosts the weekly celebrity interview podcast The Strip Podcast "The Strip" with his husband, Miles Smith, the executive producer at KSNV-TV, Channel 3. For four years, Steve also co-hosted The Petcast with Las Vegas Sun education scribe Emily Richmond.

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Sunday, January 16, 2011

It appears the desecration of Aria is complete. And the outcome, if it is even possible, is worse than expected. "Elvis is in the Building"? With no further instructions? No reference to the name of the show? Just a sign that could also be hung on the Stratosphere (America Superstars), Harrah's ("Legends In Concert"), Bill's (Fat Elvis) and the Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel, among others?

There's no grace or beauty in the sign, either. This, remember, was what the VegasTripping gang had imagined this would look like:

THAT would have been more graceful and less visually off-putting.

But more importantly, they've now damaged the elegance of a world-class building and spent many thousands of dollars doing so. And the message is . . . unclear. Isn't the purpose of advertising to raise awareness of something? The sign MGM Resorts just put on Aria assumes you already know about the Viva Elvis show inside. But if you already know, what do you need the ad for? And if you don't know? Well, that sign doesn't scream, "Ooh, I gotta find out what that's all about!" does it?

Somehow I suspect most Vegas-goers think that there's some sort of Elvis something in every building on The Strip. Also, that it's tacky kitsch. Also, tourists don't see the back of this building all that much, so the billboard is only useful to drive-by traffic on I-15.

I just can't come up with any scenario where this make senses from the point of view of protecting or promoting a brand. These folks are just too cute by half.

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comments:

Here's another, clearer picture I took at the same time. Check out how gorgeous Vdara and Cosmopolitan are in the reflected light of that desert sunset. And Aria looks like a billboard.

I agree with Steve that it's pointless and ugly, and the only people who have time to see it and absorb the message and react to it -- which is the point of advertising, right??? -- are the residents of Panorama Towers. We know what's in the building, y'all.

THE STRIP FINALE

Below are links to the final episodes and last week of special editions of The Strip Podcast. Right-click on any of these to save and hear at your leisure. Otherwise, click on them and they should play. Enjoy, and thanks for the wonderful years.